Live for the Moment
by racefh853629
Summary: Post Play with Fire oneshot.  Greg can't sleep, and he's not the only one.  Comfortfriendship fic.


A/N: Okay, so I was watching Play With Fire, and this came to me. So, it's set a couple hours after Catherine leaves. I don't own CSI, CBS, the characters, or any known entity. Premise of the story: Greg can't sleep, and he's not alone. No beta and I'm sick, so if there are mistakes, I apologize. Please review. :)

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**Live for the Moment**

Moving was somewhat painful, so Greg stayed on his side. The nurses came in every couple of hours to help him change positions, but he felt somewhat restless. He was half-surprised that his mother didn't rush out to smother him when she heard about the explosion. She was on her way along with his father, but Greg knew they'd still be a little while. He closed his eyes, listening to the sounds of the hospital around him. He could hear the footsteps of the nurses as they tended to other patients on the floor, the occasional beep coming from the nurse's station to let them know someone was paging them, the heel clicks of the visitors. The latter type of sounds had faded a couple of hours ago when visiting hours had ended, but Greg was restless. He wanted to get up and move around, despite how painful his burns were.

He knew the nurses probably wouldn't let him get too far, but he didn't care. Hell, after the explosion, he was lucky to still be alive. He groaned as he shifted closer to the edge of the bed, maneuvering himself to get up and out of the bed. _Hospital johnnies leave nothing to the imagination,_ he mused angrily, grabbing the robe on the bedside dresser set.

He half-wondered why they bothered giving the rooms closets and dressers and all that stuff. They didn't really allow you to wear normal clothes. He guessed it was to make the room seem more normal, home or hotel-like. But who would mistake that place for a house or a hotel when you have people always moving around, no privacy, no way to block out the noise, and random instruments all over the friggen place?

He had started to move toward the door when he heard heels clicking on the floor. This late, it could only be the doctor. As quick as his body would allow, he climbed back into bed as the sound grew louder until it reached his door. He pretended to be asleep, hoping that they would just take his vitals or something before they left. Instead, he listened as the woman sighed and took a seat next to the bed in the chair that Catherine had pulled over a little earlier.

He hadn't been able to fall asleep that well after Catherine's visit. He knew the explosion had been an accident, that she didn't mean for him to get hurt, but now he felt bad. No matter what, he was still going to feel guilty for what happened in the lab. If only he had checked the fume hood! He didn't know if that would've helped. By the time he smelled something, he was seconds from going through a plate glass window.

He couldn't dwell on that now, he realized, as he tried to figure out who his female visitor was. It wasn't his mother, because she would've grabbed onto him in the first few seconds of being there. It wasn't Catherine, because she had gone home with the promise to check on him in the morning and probably bring him home. Definitely bring him breakfast. She felt really bad about what happened, but he told her not to worry about it. It was an accident, in a lab that sometimes works with high combustibles. It was a surprise that this hadn't already happened. He heard more footsteps in the hallway that didn't belong to the nurses. A doctor? Another after-hours visitor? He heard the girl beside him get up and move, probably thinking she was about to get busted. The footsteps from the hall entered his room, and he still pretended he was asleep.

"Sanders?" he heard a soft, male voice say. Greg laid still, not believing who was in his room. "I wasn't sure you'd be awake. Anyway, I just wanted to make sure you were okay, but I guess since, you know, you're not hooked up to machines, you can't be doing that bad, right? Yeah, well, you can't answer that because you're asleep, so I guess I'll see you later." The man patted him gently on the arm, and the footsteps departed out of the room and back down the hall.

The heel clicks started again as the girl moved back beside him. He could tell now, after listening to her walk in his room, exactly who she was. "I know you're awake," she said softly.

"Hodges didn't know that," Greg replied, opening his eyes. Sara shook her head.

"He doesn't know you like I do. How long have you been awake?"

"I woke up when Catherine was here. She left a couple of hours ago." He looked more closely at Sara and saw the red rims around her eyes. "You've been crying."

"You're observant," she replied, sniffling slightly. He forced himself to move, giving her room on the bed to sit before patting the bed. She shook her head.

"Come on," Greg urged. "Step into Greggo's kingdom of comfort." She chuckled softly before finally complying. He snaked his right arm under her, bringing her closer to him. "What happened?"

"I was worried about you," she began. "I was walking down the hall when I saw you go flying through the glass." He brushed the hair out of her face, noticing the glass cuts on her face.

"You okay?"

"I should be asking you that." He sighed.

"Burns hurt pretty bad, but they keep me pretty well medicated. There's more to your story than that."

"What makes you say that?"

"I know you well, Sara."

"Well, after I got back, I kinda did something stupid."

"What'd you do?"

"I didn't let the PD clear the scene before I went in. I mean, I helped them clear the scene and I found the suspect, but I could've been hurt or killed. Brass yelled at me, Nick lectured me, and then Grissom lectured me too."

"I won't lecture you, but…"

"Yeah, I know. It was stupid and I had the lectures coming."

"If you accept that, then what made you cry?"

"I got rejected. I know it sounds stupid to care about that given everything."

"Sara, honey, I'm willing to bet that if that had happened on any other day, you'd have been okay. You went through a lot today, and if you'd asked him any other time or day and he'd rejected you, I don't think you'd be upset."

"I don't know, Greg. It's been a yo-yo ever since I got here. I'm up, I'm down, I'm up, I'm down. Do you realize that within the last few months, I've been betrayed twice, almost killed at the same time I'm watching one of my best friends almost get killed, and rejected for a date? What's next?"

"I'd imagine you can only go up from here," he said softly, draping his left arm across her and holding her gently. She shook her head.

"I don't know about that," she mumbled.

"Sweetie, I really don't think it can get worse."

"I know it could."

"Try to think positively. It helps to live for the moment." She sighed.

"How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Keep optimism? Stay happy? Keep making jokes?"

"It's my defense mechanism. When I was in high school, it wasn't cool to be in the chess club, be a momma's boy, be a science geek, any of that. At least if I was funny, the kids wouldn't pick on me."

"And it just stayed?"

"Yeah. I had a vast sense of humor before. It just kinda grew over time." She nodded.

"Something tells me, though, it wasn't enough sometimes." Greg shrugged.

"You were in high school as a self-proclaimed 'science nerd.' How'd you stop yourself from getting picked on?"

"I was anti-social. If you don't talk to them, they can't pick on you."

"Nice theory. Would've never worked in my high school. The anti-social kids were the first to get thrown around. No one cared about them, so it wasn't like there was going to be some sort of retribution for it."

"That's sad."

"That's life. Anyway, away from high school…"

"Yeah." Sara sighed, resting her head against Greg. He gently placed his chin on top of her head, thinking.

"Who turned you down?" he asked softly after a moment. She shook her head.

"I'm not telling," she said softly.

"Fine. But he must be an idiot." She looked at him.

"He's rather intelligent." Greg shook his head.

"If he turned down a date with you, he's an idiot."

"He doesn't know what he wants."

"He's still an idiot. Hank's the king of idiots. Anyone who'd cheat on you or use you as the other girl is a moron. You're beautiful, smart, witty, and funny. You rarely see that in combination, but you're all those things."

"You're flattering." He smiled.

"I tell it like it is, babe." She chuckled softly.

"Thanks for cheering me up."

"You're welcome. Actually, you helped me forget about the pain. So, thank you."

"You're welcome." She smiled softly, and he grinned wider, sensing the need for a subject change and knowing the perfect one.

"So, how many ways can we come up with to torture Hodges later?" She laughed.

"Oh, I'm sure we could come up with a few, but I think we should lay off of him."

"That was the most awkward few moments of my life."

"Oh, I doubt that."

"It sure as hell ranks up there."

"That I can see." She smiled, thinking. "Greg?"

"Yeah?" he replied.

"We both almost died today, and I know this isn't what you want to think about, but there's something you oughta hear from me. Ever since I got here, you were almost like the little brother I'd never had, and I really like that. When I saw you go down earlier, I was so afraid I'd lost you without ever getting the chance to tell you that. You're an amazing person, Greggo." He smiled softly.

"Thanks, Sara. While we're being open and honest here, I had a pretty big crush on you. I kinda got over, but not really, but I know we're better off as friends than anything else. I know you don't like me like that, and that's fine, it really doesn't bother me." She sighed.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You can't force your heart into something that doesn't feel right." She nodded, and he kissed her gently on the temple. "You're the closest thing to an older sister that I have, though, and I don't want to lose that."

"I'll try to stop being suicidal." He laughed softly, knowing that it was true, she did have a self-destructive streak. But he also knew that she wouldn't be letting go of that so quickly.

"I like you the way you are. Just, be careful, yeah?"

"Same to you, Greg." He nodded, and she kissed his cheek gently. "I'm gonna head home. Thanks for the talk. When are they releasing you?"

"No problem. They're releasing me tomorrow most likely if everything checks out okay, but Catherine's picking me up and bringing me breakfast." She nodded.

"I'll drop by your place sometime tomorrow and check on you, okay?" He nodded, and she worked herself gently out of his arms. "Night, Greggo."

"Night, Sara," he told her departing form. He closed his eyes, feeling comfort and fatigue lull him into a sound sleep after a few minutes alone.

**THE END**


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